Surprise juvenile arrested in copter laser flashing

Surprise police arrested a juvenile after a sheriff's helicopter was repeatedly flashed by a laser on Friday.

A Maricopa County Sheriff's Office helicopter was flashed four times while on a rescue mission.

"My dedicated Sheriff's employees are risking their lives," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said in a statement. "It upsets me that the actions by this person could have seriously injured my employees and put more lives at risk. I hope that the public understands the danger in these actions."

The helicopter crew located where the flash came from before directing police to the back porch of a house in Surprise, where the juvenile was arrested.

The Fox 4 helicopter was completing a rescue operation near the White Tank Mountains at about 7 p.m. Friday when it was flashed. The crew was rescuing a man and woman who had been hiking with two small children before they got lost. The man reported that he took a wrong turn and was afraid of the elements.

The pilot located the family before flying them out of the mountain back to their vehicle.